Rubber bathing cap



July 18, 1950 w. s. FREEMAN RUBBER BATHING CAP 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledJuly 19, 1948 July 18, 1950 w. s. FREEMAN RUBBER BATHING CAP 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 19, 1948 7 [Km-fire? M044! 5 FFEEMHA/ PatentedJuly 18, 1950 ofFFifC l;

. p lliam Simon Freeman,fBarnsley, England i V Application July 19,1948, Serial No. 39,481

l In Great Britain J uly15, 194'7 This invention'is for" improvements inor relating to rubber bathing caps, and 'has'for' one of its objects toprovide a more comfortable and efficient cap than has heretofore beenavail.- able.

The invention is concerned with rubber bathing caps of the type whichare without straps, buckles or like fastenings and fit closely to thewearers head leaving only the face exposed, and are formed on the innersurface with a thickening rib extending completely around the free edgeand are also formed on the inner surface with serrations of triangularcross-section, additional to the said thickening rib and adjacentthereto, to grip the wearers head.

According to the primary feature of the present invention, there isprovided a rubber bathing cap which is of the type above described andwhich is characterised in that the cap has moulded in it twooutwardly-extending pockets to accommodate the wearers ears and a pad atthe bottom of each pocket, which pads form ledges between and around thelobes of the wearers ears. These pads will be found to promote ease andcomfort.

If desired parts of the length of the aforesaid serrations reachcompletely around the periphery of the said ear pockets so as to makecontact with the wearers head all round his ears, thus preventing theentry of water to them.

It is preferred to employ such a cross-section for the serrations thatthe side of each which is the nearer to the free edge of the cap is at asmaller angle to the inner face of the cap than is the other side. Thisconstruction facilitates the operation of pulling the cap into place andtends to resist undesired displacement of it thereafter.

According to another feature of the invention, at the portion which iSto fit the nape of the wearers neck, the cap is thickened so as topresent the aforesaid serrations closely to the natural depression inthe conformation of the wearers head.

For a more complete understanding of the invention, there will now bedescribed, by way of example only and with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, one construction of rubber bathing cap according to theinvention. It is to be understood, however, that the invention is notrestricted to the precise constructional details set forth.

In these drawings:

Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation of the cap with the wearers headindicated in chain lines;

Figure 2 is an underplan of the cap;

Figure 3 is a front view of the cap;

Figure 4 is a detail sectional viewon the line 4-4 of Figure 1, and

Figure 5 is a detail sectional view on the line 5--5 of Figure 3.

Like reference numerals indicate like. parts throughout the drawings.

The cap [0 has a stiffening rib ll around its .free edge and is madewith a low front on the forehead. The cap is without straps, buckles orlike fastenings and its conformation is so chosen thatthe rib II at thefreev edge shall lie closely against the wearers head, leaving, ofcourse, the

face exposed. Also on the inner face of the cap are serrations i2, oneor more of which extend completely around the edge of the cap close tothe rib i l and others of which conform to only a part of this outline.These serrations are to prevent the entry of water. The cap has mouldedin it two outwardly-extending ear pockets l3, see particularly Figure 2,these pockets, so far as the exterior is concerned, flowing with smoothcurves into the remainder of the cap. At the bottom of each pocket is apad [4 which is of crescent shape, as seen in Figure 1, and which ismoulded in the cap. The pads l4 form ledges to lie beneath and aroundthe lobes of the wearers ears so as to prevent the latter from beingpressed against the head and thus causing discomfort. Some of theserrations l2 may reach across the surface of the pads l4 if desired.Other serrations are shown reaching completely around the periphery ofthe ear pockets l3, the latter thus having an internal shell-likeformation (see Figures 1 and 4). There are additional serrations I 2about the neck of the wearer and these extend across a thickened portionI5 of the cap, which is so shaped, see particularly Figures 3 and 5, asto cause these serrations to fit closely into the natural depression atthe nape of the neck. Around the crown of the head there are shownstiffening ribs IS on the inner surface of the cap to assist inpreserving the smooth contour of the cap when in use.

As will be seen more particularly from Figure 1, the serrations [2 forma saw-edge cross-section with the side in each serration which is thenearer to the thickening rib l I, at a smaller angle to the inner faceof the cap than is the other side. The ribs 1 l and I6 may convenientlybe of semicircular cross-section.

From the foregoing description it will be appreciated that the bathingcap according to the present invention has a pleasing contour when onthe inner surface of said cap adjacent to said stiffening rib forgripping the wearers head, two outwardly extending pockets formedonopposite sides of said cap to acommodate the wearer's ears, saidpockets each having a crescent-shaped; pad at the bottom portionthereof, said pads forming ledges beneath and around the lobes. of thewearers ears, and a thickenedportion on the back of the cap adjacent"the) nape of the wearers neck for presenting the serrations closely tothe. natural depressionin conformation with the nape of the wearersneck;

2. In an. elastic bathing cap of the type having outwardly extendingpockets formed on the opposite sides of the cap to accommodate thewearers ears, crescent-shaped pads at the bottom portion oi the pockets,said pads forming ledges beneath and around the lobes of the wearersearsto promote ease and comfort by preventing the pockets from pressingthe wearersea-rs against his head.

, 3 A bathing cap comprising an. elastic cap body closely fitted to thewearers head leaving only the face exposed, said cap body having a bandof serrations of triangular cross section formed on the inner surface ofsaid cap adjacent the free edge thereof, two outwardly extendingshell-type pockets formed on opposite sides of said cap to accommodatethe wearers ears, and a crescentshaped padvat the bottom. portion ofeach pocket, said pads forming: ledges beneath and: around the lobes ofthe wearers ears, the serrations of said band near the free edge of saidcap merging into said pads While the serrations near the inner edge ofsaid band encircle the upper portion of said pocketaand: said pads andserrations forming a seal with. the wearers head for preventing theingress of water into said pockets.

WILLIAM SIMON FREEMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are ofrecord in the file: orthis. patent:

STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 16,1L1 Auster et a1 July 14, 19251,746,477 HOWI'an'd Feb. 11, 1930 1,950,081 De Laney Mar. 6, 19342,206,402 Howl'and July 2, 1940 FQREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date429,892 Great Britain June 7,, 1935 459,262 Great. Britain Jan. 5, 1937'6245945 Great Britain June 20, 1949

